2026 FIFA World Cup
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | TBD |
| Teams | 48 |
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the 23rd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international men's football championship contested by the national teams of the member associations of FIFA.
The bidding process was due to start in 2015, with the appointment of hosts previously scheduled for the FIFA Congress on 10 May 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. On 10 June 2015, it was announced the bidding process has been postponed, and the bidding process will resume in 2020, amid corruption allegations around the previous tournaments, due to be held in 2018 (Russia), as well as in 2022 (Qatar).
The tournament will be the first to feature 48 teams, after FIFA approved expansion from 32 teams in January 2017.
Then-UEFA head Michel Platini had suggested in January 2015 an expansion of the tournament to 40 teams, an idea FIFA president Gianni Infantino also suggested in March 2016. A desire to increase the number of participants in the tournament from the previous 32 team format was announced 4 October 2016. Four expansion options were considered:
On 10 January 2017, the FIFA Council voted unanimously to expand to a 48 team tournament. The tournament will open with a group stage consisting of 16 groups of 3 teams, with the top 2 teams progressing from each group to a knockout tournament starting with a round of 32 teams. The number of games played overall will increase from 64 to 80, but the number of games played by finalists remains at 7, the same as with 32 teams, except that one group match will be replaced by a knockout match. The tournament will also be completed within 32 days, same as previous 32-team tournaments.
The proposal for expansion has been opposed by the European Clubs Association and its member clubs, saying that the number of games was already at an "unacceptable" level and they urged the governing body to reconsider its idea of increasing the number of teams that qualify. German national team coach Joachim Löw warned that expansion, as had occurred for Euro 2016, would dilute the value of the world tournament because players have already reached their physical and mental limit. Another criticism of the new format is that with 3-team groups, the risk of collusion between the two teams playing in the last round will increase compared with 4-team groups (where simultaneous kick-offs have been employed). One suggestion by President Infantino is that group matches that end in draws will be decided by penalty shootouts.
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